If manufacturers are to make the Industry 4.0 dream come true, they must invest in technologies like condition monitoring and predictive maintenance to support the production of future-ready products.
The worst part about manufacturing tech inventions is that they quickly become obsolete.
So, knowing the manufacturing technologies most relevant for Industry 4.0 is essential. Here are the top 8 ones.
Technology #1: Big data analytics
Putting manufacturing data to critical use is a crucial stepping stone for industrial revolution 4.0.
Automated systems with impeccable connectivity are necessary to run modern-day manufacturing units. But you can’t cultivate them unless there is a mechanism to process imperative operational data on a large scale.
In contemporary manufacturing units, the influence of big data and analytics stretches across the entire value chain.
From the ideation phase — where the study of market research data lets manufacturers come out with in-demand products — to the development and delivery stages, the impact of data-driven strategies is noteworthy.
For core manufacturing processes, an increment in operational productivity along with early detection and management of bottlenecks is a proven benefit of Big Data analytics.
European manufacturing units need more technology that supports ecosystems to generate and exchange mass data. But then, using advancements in AI and ML, you’d have to connect the dots and understand the story the data is trying to tell.
Technology #2: Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)
Manufacturing companies are deploying autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to seek significant help with logistics and transporting materials across the unit. These are essentially connected systems controlled via programmable logic controllers remotely.
Today, AMRs fulfill specific logistical needs. For example, they help move raw materials and semi-finished and fully furnished products across the floor.
The software-based control feature allows better coordination between the actions of the AMRs and what the managers intend to use them for.
For example, several companies have partnered with ERP software providers to connect AMRs with a central database, facilitating streamlined resource allocation and process completion within their manufacturing ERP system.
Hassle-free task completion directly translates into an increase in production capacities. By deploying human-robot teams to oversee the assembly line manufacturing and give instructions to AMRs, you can create a safety valve to ensure timely execution.
Technology #3: Industrial internet of things (IIoT)
In a nutshell, the Internet of Things (IoT) empowers everyday equipment with sensors to unlock the potential of smart data usage.
For Industry 4.0, having a great degree of digitization for production and distribution systems has several benefits too.
The Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT — as it is rightly called — enables remote asset management in manufacturing setups involving several machines operating simultaneously.
Other benefits include:
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sensor-based IIoT deployment to improve connectivity
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support for data-driven decision-making for efficient performance management
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scope for automating low-value rule-based tasks that generally slow down production cycles.
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sensors receive and transmit operational information in real-time to help managers in sighting deviations instantly and prepare plans to prevent downtimes.
The IIoT market size can reach 1.11 trillion U.S. dollars by 2028. It reflects the increasing global adoption rates of the technology. The number of people working in an average manufacturing unit is too large to manage.
But through IIoT, the accessibility of key touch points in any manufacturing unit is improved significantly for workers working anywhere on-site.
Technology #4: OPC unified architecture
We have reached the point where the mere availability of connected devices in the manufacturing unit is only the beginning of Industry 4.0.
It is essential to have standard communication protocols to enhance data exchange between these connected devices. That’s why OPC unified architecture is a common binding force for manufacturing devices.
Being a standard open-source protocol allows OPC UA to enable manufacturers to maintain consistency in security, compatibility, reliability, and purposefulness of data exchange.
OPC Unified Architecture is opening the doors for manufacturers to establish effective collaborations. It allows them to use more IIoT products with a customized portfolio to suit their operational needs.
Technology #5: Cloud computing
The enablement of Industry 4.0 is incomplete without “Integration 4.0”. In addition, for the manufacturing standards to become truly global, next-generation cross-site data sharing systems must be in place.
Needless to say, data sharing systems should also ensure high-speed connectivity so that critical operations do not get affected by lags. With all those requirements in mind, it’s no surprise factory units are using cloud computing for every small operation today.
All modern equipment, sensors, robots, etc., generate critical operational data in real-time. But the data requires a channel for transport and projection, and Cloud computing plays a pivotal role in providing just that.
So cloud-based solutions have now become commonplace to cultivate intra and inter-industrial collaboration cultures.
Technology #6: Nanotechnology
Even modern-day manufacturing giants face the challenge of creating lighter, sturdier, and safer materials to act as building blocks for their respective final products.
Enter nanotechnology — a technology that helps reduce massive, bulky raw materials to smaller fragments. It makes the material more flexible, robust, and resilient than before. All thanks to their properties, nanomaterials make manufacturing faster.
Nanotechnology is paving the way for future-ready innovation in the field of manufacturing. It can further transform manufacturing by influencing the design, processing, and packaging.
Technology #7: 3D printing
3D printing is slowly finding its use cases in the manufacturing sector.
Primarily, the goal of using 3D printing is to obtain detailed objects in a shorter span.
Besides, manufacturing larger materials for product design becomes easy with 3D printers. Manufacturing specialized goods like customized prosthetics seek benefits from 3D printing options at a vast scale today.
Once the experts prepare a 3D digital model, its production using 3D printers is very fast and low-cost. Also, 3D printing enables options for creating a product layer-by-layer, making even complex design production an easy job on-site.
Technology #8: Rapid prototyping
Rapid prototyping is an additive manufacturing technology that enables 3D product model preparation using computer-assisted design (CAD). It goes hand-in-hand with 3D printing and allows manufacturers to create product models — either in part or entirely — as fast as possible.
Once you achieve this, you can quickly initiate brainstorming on possible modifications. This way, manufacturers can quickly emulate the prototype and launch new products.
The bottom line
Manufacturing technologies keep evolving, all thanks to research and development projects companies undertake.
What’s important is to stay on top of emerging trends and exploit them in the best possible manner. Experts predict developments in these 8 tech avenues will shape modern manufacturing. So manufacturers must keep a close watch on them.
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